Star Wars Blu-ray boxset confirmed by George Lucas

George Lucas has confirmed that Star Wars will be coming to Blu-ray in 2011; finally giving you a reason to upgrade to the high-def format if you haven't already.

The news, which was confirmed by the director himself at the Star Wars Celebration V convention in Orlando, Florida, will see all six live-action "Star Wars" films released next year on Blu-ray for the first time.

"I wish I could say it was coming out this year", said Lucas, answering questions at the event. "But it will come out next year".

According to starwars.com, the official site of the films, the set will feature all six live-action Star Wars feature films, with the highest picture and audio quality, along with extensive special features.

Star Wars fans were treated to a glimpse of bonus material, in the form of a long-lost deleted scene from Return of the Jedi.

The scene has long been talked about online - a sequence that depicts Luke Skywalker assembling his new, green-bladed lightsaber prior to infiltrating Jabba the Hutt's palace.

After completing the Jedi weapon, Luke stashes it in R2-D2's dome. What makes the Jedi deleted clip so remarkable is that it made it all the way to post production before it was cut, so it is a rare example of a cut scene with completed visual effects and music.

UPDATE:

That was quick, Amazon.com has created pre-order pages for the new offerings:

Stuart has been a tech journalist since 1998 and written for a number of publications around the world. Regularly turning up on television, radio and in newspapers, Stuart has played with virtually every gadget available.